


understanding intonation in context

by youcouldmakealife



Series: between the teeth [23]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-30 02:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5147348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youcouldmakealife/pseuds/youcouldmakealife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David says, “Is this an actual important meeting or what?”</p>
<p>“So serious,” Kiro sighs.</p>
<p>David frowns at him.</p>
<p>“So serious,” Kiro repeats, and then, when David’s about to protest he isn’t, “I want to talk about Lourdes.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	understanding intonation in context

The day after David went out with Jake and Kiro is a day off, but around noon Kiro sends him a text with an address and “Important meeting @ 6”. Kiro doesn’t answer David’s ‘What’s the meeting about?’ response, and when David looks up the address it’s an office building, so he spends the next few hours worried, and then pulls a game day suit out of the closet.

Kiro’s already there when David arrives at five to six, wearing shorts and flip flops, and he starts laughing when he sees David. 

“Where’s the meeting?” David asks. 

Kiro points to the bar and grill. 

“Who are we meeting?” David asks. 

“No one,” Kiro says. “Important David and Kiro meeting.”

“I got dressed up—” David starts, and doesn’t even notice Kiro’s steering him toward the restaurant until they’re at the doors, and then he quiets, because they’re at the hostess stand.

“Volkov,” Kiro says, and she sits them down in a spot that’s fairly secluded. David doesn’t know if Kiro asked for that or it was just luck, but either way, he’s relieved.

Kiro grins wide at him, says, “I like your suit.”

“I can’t believe you,” David says. “You couldn’t have told me?”

“But then I would not get snazzy suit,” Kiro argues. “I made the right choice.”

Once they’ve ordered a pitcher (“We have training tomorrow,” David protested, but Kiro ordered it anyway, and David’s not going to let him drink the whole thing by himself), and appetizers, David says, “Is this an actual important meeting or what?”

“So serious,” Kiro sighs.

David frowns at him.

“So serious,” Kiro repeats, and then, when David’s about to protest he isn’t, “I want to talk about Lourdes.”

David feels his stomach drop. “Why?” he asks.

Kiro gives him a look like he should know, and David wishes the drinks had arrived so he could look away to sip. Instead he looks down, nudges his utensils into better order.

“I like to think I am likable guy,” Kiro says. “And Lourdes I hear is very friendly. Not on the ice, on the ice he’s an ass, but off the ice.”

“He is,” David says, cautious.

“So I wonder to myself, ‘Kiro, why does Jake Lourdes hate you when you have never done anything to him?’,” Kiro says. “I thought about it for some time last night. And I think maybe you know.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” David says. He doesn’t know why he’s even bothering — if he noticed Jake’s behaviour last night, Kiro definitely would have, and probably would have noticed things David didn’t.

“Try again,” Kiro says, and the waitress comes in with their pitcher just long enough for David to hope Kiro will drop it, but when she leaves, Kiro’s still looking at him expectantly.

“Jake said you slept around,” David mumbles, feeling guilty even as he says it, because it may be true, Jake did say that, but it’s not exactly the whole truth.

Kiro laughs. “And what would he know of it?” he asks.

“Uh,” David starts, “he’s friends with Gabe Markson —”

“Who is Petey’s roommate, now,” Kiro says. “NHL is ridiculous. Worse than school.”

David wouldn’t know, though news does seem to travel fast. Jake being out did, at least, though David doesn’t really know how many teams it’s reached. He’d ask Kiro whether he knew, but that would probably make things obvious, and if Kiro didn’t know, he would after that.

“I have a girlfriend,” Kiro says.

“I know,” David says. “So they’re full of shit, then?”

“No,” Kiro says. 

David frowns. “Then—” he starts.

“I have a girlfriend,” Kiro says, raising his shoulder in a shrug. “I fuck other people too. She knows. I am no cheater.”

“She’s fine with you just sleeping with other girls?” David asks disbelievingly.

“She does too,” Kiro says.

“With other people or with other girls?” David asks, now completely lost.

Kiro just smirks at him. 

“Why would she even—” David starts, then stops. He doesn’t even know what he’d say.

“I am away a lot,” Kiro says. “So we have 100 mile rule.” He doesn’t even wait for David to ask what that is, just continues, “I can fuck other people if I am over 100 miles from her. She can do the same.”

“How far’s this?” David asks.

“Close to four hundred,” Kiro says, and then waggles his eyebrows.

“I didn’t mean—” David starts, feeling his face go red. 

Kiro starts laughing. “I am flattered,” he says.

“Shut up,” David mumbles.

“You are almost as pretty as my girlfriend,” Kiro says, and continues even though David kicks him under the table, “Not quite, I am loyal, but now that it is 400 miles—”

“Shut _up_ ,” David says, face on fire.

Kiro mimes zipping his lips, but he’s still grinning.

“Lourdes,” Kiro says, and David can’t help a flinch. “Are you and him a—” he pauses, apparently stuck, then finishes off with “item?”, frowning like it’s not the word he wants. “Because I know jealousy, and that is what it seemed.”

David considers saying ‘no’, outright, but he knows he’s a bad liar, that Kiro would know he was lying. Kiro’s been open with him, and it feels ungrateful, but that isn’t the reason he doesn’t deny it, only the simple fear of getting caught in a lie forces him to say, “Why would you say that?”

“I am very smart,” Kiro says, and when David smiles reluctantly, continues. “And handsome. Really great at everything.”

“We were,” David says, finally. He can feel his shirt sticking to his back with sweat that has nothing to do with the heat outside. The only other person he’s told — because who knows is not in his hands — is Dave, and he had to tell him if he wanted to ensure Dave could protect them in the worst case scenarios. This is different. He can’t look at Kiro. “I guess.”

“Bad breakup?” Kiro asks.

“Something like that,” David mumbles, rubs his thumb over the condensation on his glass.

“Davidson,” Kiro says, and then when David doesn’t look up, “David, look at me.”

David looks up at him.

“You know it’s okay,” Kiro says, serious. He’s so rarely serious that David notices it every time. He’s a lot like Jake, that way.

“You sound like Kurmazov,” David mumbles.

“You flirt with Kurmazov?” Kiro says, delighted sounding.

“I—no!” David says, and then, probably too loud, “I wasn’t flirting with you!”

“How far is New York?” Kiro mimics, in a voice that sounds nothing like David’s. “I understand why Lourdes was jealous now. I am much better looking.”

There is no right response to that. “Oh my god,” David says, instead.

Kiro grins at him, kicks him under the table. “Say I’m better looking.”

“No!” David says. 

“And an American?” Kiro asks. “I can introduce you to nice Russians. Even Canadian would be better.”

“What do you mean, _even_ Canadian?” David asks. “ _I’m_ Canadian.”

“What would Hockey Canada say, David Chapman consorting with enemy?” Kiro asks.

“Consorting?” David asks.

“Dictionary.com Word of the Day last week,” Kiro says. “I have the app.”

The appetizers come then, and David doesn’t feel very hungry, but he feels less sick than he thought he would, the pit in his stomach almost disappearing when Kiro started teasing him, acting like he did every other day, even if every other day, he wasn’t teasing David about Jake. David isn’t comfortable with it, whole body lit up like he’s a permanent blush, but in some far distant way it feels like a relief.

“You not eating?” Kiro asks after a minute.

David shrugs.

“More for me then,” Kiro says peaceably, and kicks David under the table one last time. David kicks back.


End file.
